Port competition in the Yangtze River Delta

Abstract

This paper canvasses the port development of the Yangtze River Delta. Initially, we consider changes in container trade in the region since the 1990s. Competition between the ports of Ningbo and Shanghai are studied by measuring the overlapping hinterland of container distribution for Zhejiang province. We then analyse the strategies pursued by international carriers and terminal operators to secure success in this increasingly competitive environment.

A Survey of China’s Logistics Industry and the Impacts of Transport Delays on Importers and Exporters

“…Increased trade volumes, heavy investments in port infrastructure and intense competition between ports have lead to the emergence of highly efficient ports that may easily outshine the productivity of many European and North American ports (Cullinane et al, 2004;Song and Yeo, 2004;Yap et al, 2006;Comtois and Dong, 2007). According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, annual container traffic added up to 93 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEU) in 2006.…”

Port risk management and Public Private Partnerships: factors relating to risk allocation and risk sustainability

“…They can also enable the creation of a clear client-contractor split, for contract monitoring and control purposes. PPPs can be used as a vehicle to allow Foreign Direct Investment in port infrastructure, especially where suppliers of domestic capital are not willing to commit sufficient financial resources to enable plans to be carried out (Comtois and Dong 2007). Finally, they can, in certain circumstances, be used to improve risk allocation, by seeking to allocate the cost of some risks to the party responsible for causing the risk or best able to manage it.…”

Functional Differentiation and Sustainability: A New Stage of Development in the Chinese Container Port System

“…In addition, fierce competition of ports, international trade, multimodal transport integration, technological innovation, government policy and different routings creates a de-concentration in port system [23,25,46,52]. Container ship maximization tends to select ports that have deep-water channels [33]. The extensive rail and road transport networks stimulate the hinterland development [23].…”

“…Compared with Shanghai, Ningbo has inherent comparative advantages in water depth and freight rates. Some studies on Chinese ports and port systems, for example, Bohai Sea Ports [32]; the Yangtze River Delta [33][34][35]; the Pearl River Delta [28,36,37]; and China container port system, have concerns on changing port status [14]. In this regard, several researchers have conducted in-depth studies on China's coastal container port system and its dynamic process of the port status [38][39][40][41].…”